This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Certain abbreviations that may be found in the description and/or in the Figures are herewith defined as follows:
AUCauthentication centerEUTRANevolved UTRANLTElong term evolutionMCCmobile country codeMNCmobile network codeMMEmobility management entityMNOmobile network operatorRATradio access technologyRRCradio resource connection // controlUEuser equipmentUTRANuniversal terrestrial radio access networkVLRvisitor location registerVOIPvoice over internet protocolVoLTEvoice over LTE
In a 3GPP system, for example an E-UTRAN system, a radio resource connection (RRC) layer may be used to broadcast system information related to an access layer and transport of messages in a non-access layer. In addition, an RRC layer can be used for operations such as user equipment (UE) measurements related to mobility, handover, quality of service (QOS), paging, and security key management.
There are two main modes of RRC, these modes being an RRC idle mode and an RRC connected mode. In either of these modes a UE may measure neighbor cells. An RRC connection with a network host must be established for a UE to transition from an RRC idle mode to an RRC connected mode. The UE will initiate such an RRC connection if the UE roams into a network, cell, or area of a new network host, such as a base station or an intermediary network node. In addition, an RRC connection establishment may be initiated by the UE if an application, such as an Internet Browser, is started at the UE. The UE is required to be in an RRC connected mode before the UE can perform signaling processes and/or transfer application data.
While in the RRC connected mode the network may change parameters which tell the UE specifics as to how and how often it is to measure and report on its neighbor cells. Some of those parameters may be set with reference to the mobility state of the UE. The UE can determine its mobility state by calculating how many cell reselections or handovers from one cell to another have taken place within a time period, as specified by network. These calculations effectively determine a speed at which the UE is operating. All else being equal, the network would prefer more frequent measurement reports from faster moving UEs.
But the network does not know the mobility state of a UE in the RRC idle mode. A problem arises where a fast moving UE in the idle mode transitions to the RRC connected mode in that it may not be giving to the network the optimum neighbor cell reports that would allow the network to properly manage the UE's handovers.
Embodiments of these teachings address this and other shortfalls within conventional wireless network practices.